Cutting load capacity of end mills with complex geometry

Cutting load capacity of cemented carbide end mills with high length-to-diameter ratios is determined from critical geometric and loading parameters, including a stress concentration factor (SCF) to account for serrated edges, which is determined by finite element analysis. Tensile strengths are characterised using a statistical Weibull analysis from 4-point bend tests of cemented carbide blanks of two different diameters. The approach is used to predict probability of survival for cutters under different loading conditions. Results are compared to measured failure cutting loads under service conditions as well as to those measured in static three point bend tests

Impact of Quality Improvement in Primary Schools (QUIPS) Programme on the Academic Performance of Pupils in New Edubiase Methodist Primary School in the Adansi East District of Ghana

Since the inception of Ghana’s Educational Reform Programme in 1987, so many interventions have been put in place by the government and various donor organizations. Among them is the Quality Improvement in Primary School (QUIPS) programme sponsored by the USAID, which started in 1997, aimed at improving teaching and learning at the basic level. The purpose of the study was to determine the level of improvement in academic performance of pupils in New Edubiase Methodist Primary School since the inception of the QUIPS programme. It was also to find out what impact the programme has had on the teachers in the school as well as the assistance that the programme has given to parents and the community. The sample for the study included teachers of the New Edubiase Methodist Primary School and the parents who have their children in the school, numbering 58. The instruments used to collect data were questionnaire and interview. In analyzing the data, frequencies and percentages were used. The study revealed the following: The introduction of the QUIPS programme has helped to improve academic performance of the pupils in New Edubiase Methodist Primary School; The teachers in the school have improved their professional expertise through in-service training organized during the intervention; The parents and the community have also benefited indirectly from the programme; and that the District Assembly has contributed towards the implementation of the QUIPS programme

Large mammal Fauna of the Afadjato and Agumatsa range in Ghana: An important bird area

The Mount Afadjato and Agumatsa Range Conservation Area (AACA) is one of the globally important bird area in Ghana, currently being managed through community-based conservation actions by local people with the support of the Ghana Wildlife Society. As in many other Ghanaian communities the mammal fauna of the site continue to decline as a result of many factors, basically anthropogenic in origin. The aim of the study was to assess the status of large mammals in the area in terms of their diversity, relative abundance, density, and species of local, national and international conservation concern, and the factors likely to affect these variables. The diversity, relative abundance and densities of mammal species at the site are one of the lowest in Ghanaian forests. There is every indication that the major factors causing the decline in mammal population in the area are habitat degradation and hunting pressure. As in many other communities in the West African sub-region, all mammals are negatively impacted upon by human activities. Consequently, given that whatever activities being proposed by the locally initiated community-based conservation programme will greatly depend on availability of wildlife, especially for ecotourism, there is a need for a more pragmatic approach to conserve the remaining wildlife without further delay

Who Renews? Who Leaves? Identifying Customer Churn in a Telecom Company Using Big Data Techniques

Within the context of the telecom industry, this teaching case is an active learning analytics exercise to help students build hands-on expertise on how to utilize Big Data to solve a business problem. Particularly, the case utilizes an analytics method to help develop a customer retention strategy to mitigate against an increasing customer churn problem in a telecom company. Traditionally, the forecast of customer churn uses various demographic and cell phone usage data. Big Data techniques permit a much finer granularity in the prediction of churn by analyzing specific activities a customer undertakes before churning. The authors help students to understand how data from customer interactions with the company through multiple channels can be combined to create a “session.” Subsequently, the authors demonstrate the use of effective visualization to identify the most relevant paths to customer churn. The Teradata Aster Big Data platform is used in developing this case study

Methods for the evaluation of forage legumes, grasses and fodder trees for use as livestock feed

Forage plant evaluation is carried out by many institutions throughout sub-Saharan Africa. However, the approach adopted at various locations varies. This manual outlines standard evaluation methodology, which will enable researchers throughout the region to obtain meaningful results from their forage plant evaluation. This document is based on experience from the forage evaluation programme at ILCA, Kaduna. The first section deals with methodology for initial evaluation, including suitable methodology for small-plot evaluation trials and larger multi-locational trials. The second section covers methodology suitable for further evaluation of accessions identified in the initial evaluation

Efficacy of extractives from parts of Ghanaian pawpaw, avocado and neem on the durability of alstonia

Conventional preservatives are not only toxic to wood bio-deteriorators, but also to humans and animals. In an effort to find preservatives that are non-toxic to humans and animals, efficacy of water extracts of heartwood of Azadirachta indica (Neem) and leaves of Persea americana (avocado) and Carica papaya (pawpaw) at 0.24%, was tested on the durability of wood of Alstonia boonei by pressure impregnation and buried in a termite-prone field for 5 weeks following a modified EN 252 and Gay et al. (1957). Efficacy was tested on the basis of visual durability ratings, percentage hardness and mass losses of impregnated alstonia wood after burial. Though alstonia wood retained pawpaw extract least, pawpaw extract improved the durability of alstonia wood most. Pawpaw extract could be used to improve the durability of alstonia wood better at 0.72% (3x0.24%) and on triple treatment. 83% of Anloga furniture makers who saw the efficacy of pawpaw extract at 0.72% and on triple treatment, showed a high sense of interest in preservative botanical extracts.Key words: Eco-friendly, termite, efficacy, standardization, percentage hardness loss, percentage mass loss, visual durability rating